White House Floral Arrangement

By Ruth Anne Kettler

White House Floral Arrangement

By Ruth Anne Kettler

State Dining Room

The room in the White House that I chose to make a floral arrangement for was the State Dining Room.

Facts

The State Dining room seats as many as 140 people

It was originally much smaller and served at various times as a drawing room, office, and Cabinet room

Not until the Andrew Jackson administration was it called the "State Dining Room," although it had been used for formal dinners by previous presidents.

President Chester Arthur commissioned designer Louis Tiffany to redecorate the State Dining Room in 1882.

During the 1902 renovation, President Theodore Roosevelt greatly enlarged the State Dining Room. He mounted a large moose head above the fireplace, and placed other game trophies on the natural oak panels

In the final year of World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered John Adams's famous blessing carved on the stone fireplace of the State Dining Room where it can be seen today.

Today, the State Dining Room serves as a banquet hall and ceremonial chamber for all manner of official events. It is the center of White House hospitality.